Missing the Point

Some of us want to accumulate money because we simply can’t stop ourselves. To those thus inclined, money is like Pokémon cards or Civil War relics or anything else a person might hoard. And because accumulation feels good, triggering biological reward responses that would have nudged our proto-human ancestors into gathering resources (the better to survive and procreate), some of us keep accumulating money, hitting that ‘get more’ button over and over and over again until we die. For many of us, though, money actually represents freedom. Or safety. Or the leverage required to accomplish some long-cherished goal. Sometimes the money itself is the point, but sometimes it’s more about what the money symbolizes: the gaps it fills in our lives. Working out can be similar. Some people exercise because of the physical and psychological rewards inherent in the act of straining their muscles and circulatory systems. But for others, going to the gym or for a run is a means of staying alive…